I just got home from the grocery store, and let me tell you, I was prepared to think some seriously zen thoughts. 6:00 pm, the day before Thanksgiving? That place was bound to be a zoo. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it humming along smoothly. I didn't even half to wait at the check out. Long story short, I'm thankful for an easy trip to the grocery store.
Here are some other things I'm thankful for this year:
Unexpected days off - In the past couple weeks, I've had days off due to a power outage and ice.There's nothing quite like realizing you don't have to do anything all day.
Sunny summer - This summer was unusually sunny and it was especially welcome after a few summers of rain. I didn't even have to pack my rain jacket sometimes. Whaaaat??
Adventures - Like flight seeing! (Thanks Mom and Dad)
Ice skating - Early this year I went ice skating, and now I have a nice boy in my life who buys me coffee, puts up with my ghost obsession, AND shares my interest in fudge stripe cookies and word puzzles (except word searches.)
I think we also share a leg to jort ratio
Not Black Friday (or Thursday??) shopping
AMERICA. SERIOUSLY.
ITA matrix - The easiest way for me to play "How much does it cost to get to______" is with the ITA matrix. You are search a million airports at once! For example, all airports within 1000 miles of Caracas. Thanks, Google.
Going home for Christmas - Last year I was home the week before Christmas, so I'm super excited to be home for actual Christmas this year. Bonus, all my immediate family is in the same state now!
Friends, family, etc - Obvi.
I'm thankful for the rest of the family too. He's just the cutest.
Fact: I am a TERRIBLE sick person. Some people are good at functioning while under-the-weather. I am not one of those people. Not only that, but I feel guilty about being sick. It's a double whammy on my soul. So, friends, just know if I ask you to get me a ginger ale, I feel really bad about it.
Anyway, last week I had strep throat. I haven't had strep in a really long time, (but it was just as miserable as I remembered.) Thank goodness for antibiotics, amirite? By day 3 I had watched more PBS specials than I care to admit, in addition to a whole host of shows and movies on Netflix and Hulu. So I was going a little stir crazy and was thisclose to starting the telenovelas on Hulu. (Did you know Hulu has a Spanish channel?)
For example:
La Tempestad is about who cares? Look at those guys.
Hand to face contact in novelas is unmatched.
Novelas are great because I only understand about every 5th word (Thanks a lot, high school Spanish) but I can still generally figure out what is going on. Also there is a lot of stage slapping and that is fantastic.
When I was in college Days of Our Lives was my go to soap opera (of the English-language variety).
I scheduled my classes around DoOL. You better believe I didn't have class from 2 to 3. (Sorry, calculus, I'm busy.) I love that they so frequently change the actors, like no one will notice.
Phillip 1: Brandon Tyler
Phillip 2: Jay Kenneth Johnson
Phillip 3: Kyle Brandt (of Real World fame!)
Phillip 4: Jay Kenneth Johnson (Yes, the same one.)
They didn't even look the same!
Any time you are feeling overwhelmed, you should stop whatever you are going and watch some soap operas. Your life could be so much worse. You could be in a coma while your evil twin is seducing your husband and simultaneously running your dead-but-actually-just-in-hiding dad's business into the ground. It's all about perspective, people.
First of all, can we talk about Luke Bryan's teeth? They are very white. Second, I'm only moderately ashamed of my love for pop-country. It's just so catchy! And Crash My Party is no exception. So sorry if you are a "I like all music. Except country." person.
Girls who say they don't worry about whether it's okay to call a boy they are newly dating are lying. We all worry about that, (and you can't convince me otherwise.) So boys, if you want to win a girl over, just tell her it's okay to call you call you call you.
Yesterday I made a categorized to-do list. And I loved it. I'm a planner. I'd even say that planning things might a hobby. Now, before you go jumping to conclusions, I do NOT have a pinterest page that looks like this.
In fact, I don't even use pinterest at all. ("Gasp!" say my sorority sisters)
I like planning things like moves to places I don't intend to live and vacations I can't afford to take. Down to very specific details. Like whether I'll have to switch insurance companies because this-or-that city doesn't have a State Farm office. Or what bank I'll use. Or what tropical cocktail I'll order from the comfort of the beach chair. Or what I'll do during a 5 hour layover in Houston. (People watch and avoid eating at Chili's Too.)
I like to play a game where I search for the cheapest international flights from Anchorage. Once I decide on a place, I see how fast I can get there. Less than 30 hours, preferably. If you remember, Anchorage is really far from a lot of places.
Then I look at my calendar to see how I can best optimize my time off from work. Then I start looking for places to stay and things to do around those places. Bam! Many hours later, vacation planned.
Some people knit. I peruse AirBnB for the best places to stay in Cambodia. Everyone needs a hobby.
This week's hot jam is Nobody's Fault by Dixie Hummingbirds. Dixie Hummingbirds have been around since 1928. Seriously. It's on Wikipedia, you can look it up. I've heard their musical style referred to as Gospsoul, which is fun to say and an accurate description. Nobody's Fault has foot stomping AND hand clapping. Wins all around.
This is a weird video, but it's about the music, man, so deal with it?
I'm approximately 75 years old on the inside (see porch sitting, game shows, gardens, golden girls,sewing.) I say things like, "cattywampus" and "Did your mother let you out of the house like that?" I like to eat dinner at 5. If I had a lawn, I would most certainly tell kids to get off of it. And I enjoy antiquing. I blame my mother. She took me to antique shows/stores/malls as a kid. At the time I thought they were terrible (mostly because I wasn't allowed to touch anything) but now I go of my own accord, I even peruse Craigslist's antique section (of course I need depression glass, thanks Craigslist). I'm sure 7 year old Maggie is very disappointed in the choices I'm making.
But it's the thrill of the hunt that really gets me. You never know what you'll find. Maybe you'll buy an ugly painting for the frame and find a Rembrandt behind it. Maybe not. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. I mostly look for weird stuff and mid-century modern stuff. Sometimes those are the same thing, the mid-20th century was a weird time.
Exhibit A. I do not own this, but it is something I'd totally look at.
We have a few antique stores in Anchorage, two are large enough to get lost in. Or play a really fun game of Sardines. And, honestly, that's all I'm looking for in a retail environment. Last time, I found an AMAZING dresser for super cheap. I fell in love. Then discovered it was on layaway. Oh the pain!
This week's hot jam is Dance Dance Dance by Steve Miller Band. Okay, I agree, Dance Dance Dance sounds like it might be on Kidz Bop. But that's okay, because it's catchy and fun and easy to dance (dance dance) to. For the past couple years, I've attempted late night square dancing (not a euphemism) at Granite Creek Bluegrass Festival, if Dance Dance Dance was played, I'd probably by much more successful.
When I grow up, I want to write the product descriptions for American Science and Surplus. I want to write things like: "You pick the big blue or big red marker, both made in Canada where stuff
is bigger on account of all that extra space. These markers measure
6-1/2" long x 7/8" dia with a 1/2" wide chisel tip, and would make nice
gifts for IBM employees or Cincinnati fans." (If you are interested in buying these markers, you can get them here.)
Let me paint you a picture of AS&S. (No, that's not lost on me or the company) Imagine Costco, Sam's Club, or some monstrosity like that. Now imagine Toys R Us. Now imagine a dollar store where everything is a little bit dusty. If those stores had a baby it would be AS&S.
They have EVERYTHING. I mean it.
Perhaps you are looking for an 8 pack of purple dental mirrors.
Or a model of an eye
Maybe you are in the market for 3 painters hats from Circus Circus
Or a USB microscope
Maybe nonpolarized bimetal heat sensors are more your style.
YOU CAN GET ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND MORE AT AMERICAN SCIENCE AND SURPLUS, YOU GUYS. That is why it is my favorite store in the whole wide world. (Not to mention, they help out Project Exploration - a non-profit run by my hero, Paul Sereno.)
I'm not a huge Janis Joplin fan (gasp!) but Piece of Heart has been stuck in my head all week. So you win, Janis, it's the hot jam of the week. Bonus: there are some excellent dancers in this video.
I know I've been really bad at updating the past couple weeks, but that's because I've been busy going on adventures!
Three weeks ago (already?!) I went to Unalaska, AK. Home of Dutch Harbor, the number one fishing port in the US, most famous for being the home of Deadliest Catch.
Here are somethings I learned:
That place is overrun with eagles and it's simultaneously cool and terrifying.
Throw your hands in the air
There are SUPER old wooden headstones in the cemetery and I don't know how they've lasted so long.
It's a little like being at living history museum. There's leftovers from WWII everywhere. Seriously. Everywhere.
It's BEAUTIFUL
Two weeks ago I went flightseeing in Denali (Thanks Mom and Dad!). It's like sightseeing. But from a plane. A tiny, tiny plane.
Here are somethings I learned:
Denali is always impressive no matter how close or far you are
Far
Close
They don't call it The Great One for no reason, ya'll
Friday, I'm headed home to California for a couple days. First time home since Christmas!
Back to regularly scheduled writing and topics next week!
